[cryptome] Re: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture

From: douglas rankine <douglasrankine2001@xxxxxxxxxxx>

To: cryptome@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 01:25:18 +0000

That's reassuring...Presumably you think that a dysfunctional C.I.A.
officer is somehow going to inform us all about what is wrong with the
C.I.A. and how it can be improved then? After reading the book, would
you care to share, what thoughts you have for improving the
organisation...or at least, removing the "dys" from the functional? Or
would I have to receive that information from the latest Dr. Who in his
telephone box?
ATB
Dougie.
P.S. I used to drink with the original Dr. Who in a pub in West London,
many years ago. He would come into the pub for a drink after he had
finished acting in his latest episode, he said it was very tiring work.
He was a miserable old sod, until one got to know him, kept himself to
himself, and had a problem with the drink, which, unfortunately,
hastened his passing into another world, in the end.

On 15/01/2016 00:36, Michael Best wrote:

Me is me. (cue Doctor Who jokes)

Twas I that wrote the note from me, tis true tis true. Rambling advice
on why the book may inform better than the excerpts, more than usual.
Like all complaints about bureaucracy though, the book is not exciting
and at times (justifiably) whines

Hi Michael,
Quote<<<"A note from me".......meaningful and succinct" Forgive
me, Michael, but I am little confused, can you enlighten me
please? Is the "me" you, or is it somoene else?

Is a C.I.A. Officer a human factor, or dysfunctional by nature?
ATB
Dougie.

On 14/01/2016 16:37, Michael Best wrote:

Amazon.com description:

CIA officers are, needless to say, skilled and accomplished
professionals. Unfortunately, the organization they inhabit
is stifling, misguided, and careless. In the darkness of
secrecy, with unlimited tax dollars and little or no
accountability, the CIA bureaucracy has mutated into a
leviathan that serves its own aims. From 1989 to 2002,
Ishmael Jones carried out continuous field assignments for
the CIA, pursuing WMD targets in the Middle East and Europe
and terrorist targets in the Iraq War. Appalled by the
stifling layers of bureaucracy and unable to reform the
agency from within, Jones resigned with an unblemished record
and this astonishing story to tell.

A note from me:

Unlike many other spy memoirs, The Human Factor does not
attempt to be exciting or make overblown claims or make the
narrator the hero of his or her own story. Ishmael Jones
avoids aggrandizing himself, using his professional
experiences to help explain the problems that the
Intelligence Community's bureaucracy faces and to shine a
light on the increasingly neglected art of Human Intelligence
(HUMINT). Readers looking for an expose on the horrible
conditions of CIA's bureaucracy will find themselves
unsatisfied. Rather, Jones' complaints will help readers
identify patterns of problem behavior for the Agency and how
bureaucracy too often prevents HUMINT from being properly
exploited. Written in 2010 before Snowden became a household
name and the NSA and GCHQ were thrust into the spotlight,
Jones was describing the problems with HUMINT that would
force the Intelligence Community to rely heavily, and at
times too much, on Signal Intelligence and cyber operations.
Readers interested in fulling understanding these problems,
and not merely the general shape of the issue, are advised to
read the book. Since the problems described are often
bureaucratic, the excerpts selected are merely highlights -
bureaucratic failings are nearly impossible to describe in a
way that's both meaningful and succinct.